Had chronic pain for 16+yrs from car accident. Currently taking 300mg to 600mg of Durotram XR + 100mg Tramadol + paracetamol/codeine/ibuprofen/buscopan with little relief some days.

Seen 2 pain specialists and both want to inject cortisone into my neck to determine which nerves causing pain and then kill off those nerves! Sounds very primative and risky to me, regardless of what they tell you. Got a sore arm? let's just cut it off!! Could end up with pins & needles, numbness or partial paralysis for the rest of my life. No thanks!

Tried just about everything - hot salt baths, massage, chiropractic, accupuncture etc etc... a lot of time and money!! Spend most of my time on managing pain instead of life!!

Research on Oxycontin and Oxycodone seems effective, but doctor is concerned about addiction. It seems from many posts I have read, Tramadol is more difficult to withdraw from anyway. I nor my doctor was aware of this obviously. Seems doctors automatically asssume you are an addict (or will be) because they can't see your pain or put a label on it to treat.

I would rather be dependant on a low dose of medication that actually works, than on a high dose of medication that doesn't really work or give relief.

Can anyone give any advice on long term pain management?
How to find a more informed doctor or specialist?